Sterling silver jewelry wire is incredibly versatile for the jewelry maker. You can make your own clasps and jump rings, use very fine gauge wire for knitting, make your own eyepins, do wire sculpture, and wire wrap using silver wire. (See my tutorial for wire wrapping a sterling silver bracelet.)Some of you may be able to buy locally, but for most jewelry makers, there are no wholesale distributors in your area.
You want to start by checking the metal markets. You can watch the price of silver go down and up over the course of days. Time your silver wire purchase for the times the prices is headed downward. Don't wait for it to start on an upsurge, or by the time you get the order shipped, the prices may have gone up significantly.
Wholesale jewelry wire is hard to find locally, but I'm
always surprised by how easy it is to find online. If you're concerned about quality, luckily we're not talking about a product that varies widely from source to source. Sterling silver wire is basically sterling silver wire, no matter where you find it. It's .925 by definition - an alloy of at least 92.5% pure silver, the rest being another metal or metals, like copper. It will almost always be sold in reels that you'll have to straighten as you use it. (Use your fingers or a flat nose pliers.)
Sterling silver wire is sold in gauges. The lower the gauge, the thicker the wire. For earwires, wire wrapping, pendants and wire sculpture, choose 18-24 gauge sterling silver wire. 20 gauge round half-hard wire
is a standard width for making earwires, wire-wrapping beads, and most uses. For knitting, chose 26 gauge
and higher. Here is some sterling silver wire sold at Amazon that's a good size for earwires.Sterling silver wire is either dead soft or half hard. Dead soft means soft, but that doesn't translate to "easy to work." Half hard is easier to work with for the beginner. Half hard jewelry wire holds its shape better, which means you're less likely to mess it up.
If you are going to be purchasing jewelry wire repeatedly, get yourself a wire gauge. This handy little tool
allows you to measure the wire you receive to make sure it's the right thickness. Usually your order will be correct. But every once in a while...Once - and luckily only once, out of many satisfactory orders - I placed an order at Santa Fe Jeweler's Supply for several sizes of wholesale sterling silver wire and ended up with - I was pretty sure - one reel the wrong gauge - 22 instead of 20 gauge. But since I didn't have a wire gauge, I couldn't confirm it, and I didn't ask for a return. I may have been wrong, I may have been right.
But a wire gauge is really necessary for peace of mind if you've got a skeptical nature like I do. I don't even think it was deliberate. I just know it's all too easy to make mistakes.
Aside from that cautionary tale, I've never had a problem ordering wire online. It came in good condition, never kinked or work hardened, and the quality was great.
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